Thomas S. Wootton High School
Thomas S. Wootton High School or Wootton High School (WHS) is a public high school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is Thomas S. Wootton, the founder of Montgomery County. The school was founded in 1970 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. Robert Frost Middle School along with half of Cabin John Middle School feed into the school. In 2019, Newsweek ranked Wootton's STEM program #160 in a nationwide survey of US high schools.[6] In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked Wootton #167 nationally amongst high school.[3]
Thomas S. Wootton High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
2100 Wootton Parkway , , Maryland 20850-3037 United States | |
Coordinates | 39.07661°N 77.18376°W |
Information | |
Type | Public secondary |
Established | 1970 |
School district | Montgomery County Public Schools |
NCES District ID | 2400480[1] |
Educational authority | Maryland Department of Education |
School code | MD-15-150234 |
CEEB code | 210909 |
NCES School ID | 240048000934[2] |
Principal | Douglas Nelson |
Faculty | 111.80 (on an FTE basis)[2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | Coeducational |
Enrollment | 1,943[2] (2021-2022) |
• Grade 9 | 493 |
• Grade 10 | 445 |
• Grade 11 | 509 |
• Grade 12 | 496 |
Student to teacher ratio | 17.38:1[2] |
Campus type | Small city[2] |
Color(s) | Red, white and blue |
Nickname | Patriots |
Rival | Winston Churchill High School |
USNWR ranking | 167[3] |
Newspaper | Common Sense[4] |
Yearbook | Fife & Drum[5] |
Website | montgomeryschoolsmd |
History
In November 2001, President George W. Bush visited Wootton and signed the congressional bill officially recognizing "Veterans Awareness Week", which takes place the week before Veteran's Day.[7]
In 2015, school principal Michael Doran was found dead in his Bethesda, Maryland, apartment.[8] A memorial service was held at Wootton two days later.[9] In 2017, a bridge near the high school and its auditorium was named in Doran's honor.[10]
Controversies
On October 9, 2020, former football coach Christopher Papadopolous was sentenced to 18 months in jail with 5 years of probation with his addition to the Maryland sex offender registry. Christopher Papadopolous pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of fourth-degree sex offense. These charges stemmed from his sexual assault of several 17 year old minors in his home in Gaithersburg.[11]
On November 2, 2021, a report of a sexual assault occurring in the school's locker room was received by Montgomery County Police. Members of the school's varsity team were allegedly involved in this in incident. Several students and staff members were interviewed in an investigation with officers from the police department's Special Victims Investigation Division. However, the investigation yielded no evidence of an occurrence of a sexual assault.[12]
Its infrastructure is aging, a cause of concern for many students and teachers alike. It was found to have lead in its water, but those issues have not been fixed as of 2018.[13] However, Montgomery County Public School Student Member of the Board candidates of 2023 are promising to fix this.[14]
Demographics
White | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Two or More Races | American Indian/Alaska Native |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
775 | 699 | 230 | 155 | 77 | 4 |
During the 2019–2020 school year, the school's racial composition was 41.6% white, 37.2% Asian, 8.3% Black, and 8.0% Hispanic.[15] Multiracial students made up less than 5% of the student body, as did Native and Pacific Islander American students.[15] The overall size of the student body was 2,116.[15]
Notable alumni
- Utkarsh Ambudkar, actor[16]
- Steve Coll, journalist[17]
- Daryl Davis, musician and activist[18]
- Trevon Diggs, National Football League (NFL) defensive back[19]
- Myles Frost, Tony Award-winning actor[20]
- Mack Hollins, National Football League (NFL) wide receiver[21]
- Timothy Hwang, CEO and co-founder of FiscalNote[22]
- Thomas Jane, actor[23]
- Chris Lu, politician[24]
- Eric Luedtke, member of the Maryland House of Delegates[25]
- Mathias Nkwenti, National Football League (NFL) offensive tackle[26]
- Krystian Ochman, Polish-American singer[27]
- Marc Roberge, Chris Culos, Richard On and Benj Gershman, members of the rock band O.A.R.[28]
- Dick Scanlan (1977), actor[29]
- Aaron Silverman, chef[30]
- Haley Skarupa, Olympic ice hockey player[31]
- Scott Weinrich, musician[32]
- Frederick Yeh, biologist and animal welfare activist[33]
References
- "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Montgomery County Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- "Search for Public Schools - Thomas S. Wootton High (240048000934)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- "Thomas S. Wootton High School". 2022 Best U.S. High Schools. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- "Common Sense". Issuu.
- "Fife & Drum 1989".
- "The Top 500 STEM High Schools". Newsweek. November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- "President George W. Bush announces his Lessons of Liberty initiative at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, MD. The initiative is an opportunity for American students to learn more about our country and its values, as well as the people that have been called upon to defend its freedom. White House photo by Tina Hager". November 1, 2001. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- St. George, Donna (August 19, 2015). "Longtime Wootton High School principal found dead in apartment". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- Kraut, Aaron (August 21, 2015). "Wootton Community Remembers Principal Michael Doran". Bethesda Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- Rodgers, Bethany (March 14, 2017). "Rockville Names Bridge for Wootton High Principal Whose Death Devastated School". Bethesda Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- "Former Wooton High School coach sentenced to 18 months in prison". FOX5 DC. FOX 5 DC Digital Team. 15 July 2022.
- Cremen, Alanea (3 November 2021). "'Serious incident' reported at Wootton High School locker room involving varsity football players". WUSA9.
- "Lead-contaminated water fountains put students at risk". Common Sense. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- "Policies". Sami For Smob. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- "Thomas S. Wootton High School - #234" (PDF). Montgomery County Public Schools. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- Rasicot, Julie (21 March 2022). "Wootton High School alumni reunite on CBS comedy Ghosts". Bethesda Magazine.
- Coll, Steve (June 10, 1990). "Growing Up Suburban". Washington Post Magazine.
- Davis, Daryl (28 March 2017). "It was my dream to meet Chuck Berry. Then I got to perform with him for 30 years". Washington Post.
- "Trevon Diggs". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- "Wootton High grad Myles Frost wins Tony Award for Michael Jackson role". Bethesda Magazine. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- Williamson, Chris (August 7, 2017). "Rockville native doing big things in the NFL". WUSA9.
- Mullins, Luke (8 October 2019). "A Cold E-mail to Mark Cuban Helped Turn FiscalNote Into One of DC's Hottest Startups". Washingtonian.
- Tsironis, Alex (March 15, 2018). "10 Celebrities You Didn't Know Have MoCo Ties". MoCo Show.
- Hendrix, Steve (December 14, 2008). "For Some on Obama Team, Capital Is Close to Home". The Washington Post. pp. C01.
- "Eric G. Luedtke, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- "Mathias Nkwenti". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- Staff, M. C. S. (1 April 2022). "Krystian Ochman (Wootton Class of 2017) is Representing Poland at Eurovision". The MoCo Show.
- Kottlowski, Laura (2015-04-20). "15 Celebrities Who Grew Up Here". Bethesda Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
- Engel, Margaret (May 1, 2015). "Interview: The Broadway Hit Makers from Montgomery". Bethesda Magazine.
- Carman, Tim (August 26, 2014). "Rose's Luxury chef Aaron Silverman masters the art of serious play". The Washington Post.
- Lefrak, Mikaela (February 22, 2018). "Rockville Native Haley Skarupa Wins Olympic Gold With U.S. Women's Ice Hockey Team". WAMU.
- "Doomed From the Start". Washington City Paper. 6 May 2005.
- Amanda Ruggeri (25 May 2015). "The unlikely sea turtle saviour". BBC.